


A Lords Guide To Romance

by Spirites



Series: Adventures of Brightmoon Academy [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora's Powers Work Diffrently, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Catra Can Shape-Shift, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Evil Light Hope, F/F, F/M, I'm Bad At Tagging, Illustrations, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Multi, Not Beta Read, Oblivious Adora (She-Ra), Original Mythology, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pictures, Princess Adora (She-Ra), Slow Burn, Slow To Update, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, horde lord catra
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24912073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spirites/pseuds/Spirites
Summary: Welcome, to Brightmoon Academy. Here you will learn the ways to control your magic, study the history of our rich past and build technology to improve the future. That's what everyone keeps saying but all Catra sees is a school full of drama power hungry royals. The real Brightmoon Academy? A training ground for spreading rumors, starting unofficial wars and just trying to survive for the next 8 years of your life. Luckily, there is a blonde princess and her friends to help get through school.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Series: Adventures of Brightmoon Academy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1802680
Comments: 45
Kudos: 122





	1. Of Course, They Were Roommates

**Author's Note:**

> So, a few things I wanted to clear up before you started reading. This series is just an idea I had while thinking back on some of my favorite shows. You will get a lot of BNHA and Winx Club vibes as well as some Kipo vibes but it is still just the Fantasy School trope, I just hadn't seen it done in this fandom. I gave Catra her ability to transform as she had in the original because I wanna include actual fight scenes and figured it would be something cool for her to work on. Shadow Weaver/ Light Hope has a weird arc and ill elaborate in future chapters but this is only being updated when I feel like writing and I don't know how this is going to be received since I am far from a good writer so basically unless this gets good traction it will sporadically update. I already have the second chapter of this done and there will be other stories (since it is in a collection of works) but each one follows a specific aspect of this universe but this first one is getting the relationship of Catra and Adora down. Also, they are in high school/college, four years for each if you were wondering. The princesses also know one another but don't have friendships and its a weird hierarchy. You will understand as you ready but I just wanted to address some mysteries that will be explored. Thanks and I hope it isn't too bad

Brightmoon Academy, the school of mystical arts, science, and history; a boarding school. The building itself looked magical on its own with gleaming walls of blue and regal white. A fountain was in front of the school that contained shimmering crystal blue water. It was the most prestigious school on Etheria and the hardest to get into, so why the fuck was Catrina standing in front of the building with a suitcase in her hands. This school was everything Catra had hated, full of snobs and stuck up idiot royal types. There should be no reason as to why Catra was standing at the ceremoniously huge doors, but there she was, replaying the events that had transpired just weeks prior.

Shadow Weaver had just talked to the selected few kids she pulled to the side that would be going to Brightmoon Academy. Since she was taken in by the Horde Catra knew what she was brought up to be. Hordak, the current lord of the Fright Zone, had grown very ill over time and without an heir had made Shadow Weaver find a suitable child to groom into the next Lord. Catra was a brilliant girl with amazing physical capabilities, she fought tooth and nail for the position. Her friends turned into her enemies and she was rewarded, she was chosen to be the heir. 

Catra saw that sending a small group of students to Brightmoon was a political move, since the royals who went usually formed future alliances it was only natural. Along with her learning to govern the Fright Zone and develop many other attributes she understood why she was going, but she did not have to like it. Catra was being sent with Force Captain Scorpia and her squadron Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle along with techmaster Entrapta. Shadow Weaver was also going to be joining as a means to make amends with the vice headmistress Ms. Castaspella. All of this was just a part of Catra being a tool in the plan, even when she got to the throne it would really be Shadow Weaver calling the shots. Even Catra’s last name was a brand of her fate. No wonder she was always so angry.

Walking through the doors Catra figured she was probably late because she had decided that going inside with the rest of the Horde members would be detrimental to her sanity. Catra entered the building and saw huge groups of students chatting and laughing. 

"Hey! Wildcat over here!" yelled a broad-shouldered girl waving a huge claw in the air catching the attention of most people around them. Scorpia was never one for subtlety and that was probably never going to change. 

Covering her face with her hands she walked over the flailing girl and hissed out "Shut up, I think all of Brightmoon knows we’re here now," while rubbing her temples. The large girl looked apologetic and went to speak once more before Catra found herself being pulled on with purple hair.

"Hi! I didn't know if you were going to show up" Entrapta exclaimed, eyes practically sparkling as she looked around. "I can't believe we are going here! The amount of tech they have is AMAZING. Mixing tech and magic is hard to understand and I can't wait to learn it all!" the girl laughed with a chuckle mixed snort of overwhelming excitement. Catra glanced over Entrapta's shoulder and noticed Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle farther back.

"Glad to know both of you are so excited. Being in this place is practically blinding, how are we supposed to live here for 8 years?" growled Catra, irritation playing at the edges of her words. "Why the hell is school so long anyways! What a waste of life". Catra huffed out in annoyance just running the idea over in her head.

"Well I mean, it takes a long time to learn these kinds of things and you know like Entrapta said it's hard to understand how our world works and it just might be good for us-" Scorpia rambled on but Catra started tuning her out at the start of this conversation. She really would rather be anywhere else, the bottom of the ocean even sounded appealing. The only thing that broke Catra's train of thought was the gasp she heard Entrapta give and without warning Catra and Scorpia were dragged off by the short girl. 

"Hi, friends!" Entrapta said bounding over to the group she had just spotted "Bow, I saw your new arrows and I liked them, I wanted to talk to you about it!". The dark-skinned boy with brown hair looked up and smiled brightly. His hair was curly and the sides were buzzed cut. He was wearing what looked like a white crop top with a red heart plastered on the chest with basic black pants and red high-top sneakers. 'Gods, is everyone here bundled up sunshine?' Catra began to complain in her head before her thoughts got derailed. She noticed the look a girl with teal hair gave to Entrapta, it was almost dismissive and it started to piss her off  _ 'wow, how full of yourself can you fucking be?'. _ Suddenly, she was shaken from her thoughts by her name being said, "...and this is Catra!"

Entrapta pulled her forwards and presented Catra with a large smile. Catra finally looked at the group of people and noticed a short girl with pink sparkly hair in nothing but purple and pink  _ 'how basic can you be?' _ . Rolling her eyes she focused on the 6ft blonde in the muscle shirt turtleneck that was hugging her body in the best way imaginable. Her eyes were a brilliant blue and her hair was tied back in a high ponytail, a dumb small poof was on her head but it was endearing and kinda worked for the girl. She had broad shoulders- and then Catra realized she was staring without saying anything for a good three seconds. 

"Hey," Catra said, trying to sound dismissive but it came out more annoyed than anything. The blonde girl gave Catra a smirk that made her feel like the room was a little too hot.

"My name is Adora, Adora Greyskull. These are my friend's Glimmer and Bow, ya know since you were probably spacing out when Entrapta introduced them" she said with a smile. Her words didn't carry malicious intent or anything close, she was just genuinely being nice and joking around.

"Yeah, that was kinda rude," Glimmer said, giving Catra the side-eye.

"Oh sorry, Glitter, my bad," Catra gave the most dramatic sad drawl possible, rolling her eyes and turning her back to the girl, finding her claws much more interesting than continuing that conversation. Before Glimmer could chew out Catra they heard a voice hush the crowd. 

"Good morning students, I am Queen Angella, your headmistress here at Brightmoon Academy. Over a thousand years ago I decided to open this school of mystical arts here in my castle. We came together to teach the next generation and soon formed the academy you see before you today. You gather here to learn of the world around you, whether to teach, to explore, or to govern your kingdoms, we are here as one today. These next eight years will be long and hard but fulfilling, you will find your place here in this magical world together. Here is Ms.Castaspella to tell you about your scheduling and housing, she will be one of your many talented instructors" applause erupted in the main hall as a black-haired woman stepped forward and cleared her throat. 

"Hello students and welcome to Brightmoon Academy! Let's get started! Rooms are split into apartments for groups of six students. Each apartment has three rooms so you will be sharing your room with someone else. Roommates are based on a ton of qualifications so it isn't random therefore changes to your living arrangements are very slim but we believe everyone will love their roommates, they’re going to be in your life for some time so get used to them. The apartments come with basic amenities, a kitchen, two bathrooms, and three bedrooms each. Apartments will be listed on the bulletin board over to the right. Schedules will then be delivered to your apartments and you'll have a three day grace period to get used to your schedule and ask for any changes that must be made. After the three day grace period we will have an assembly about rules and events here at school then classes will officially start. Now, go find your apartments and get settled, this evening we are having tours so we can answer any questions you might have and find your way around easier. Dinner will be served tonight at 9 pm in the mess hall. Enjoy the day and good luck this school year!" and with that Ms.Castaspella bowed and backed away to speak with Queen Angella and the staff of the school.

Catra rolled her eyes and sighed walking over to the board, still actively avoiding Shimmer  _ 'or whatever her name was' _ , and began to trace her finger over the large paper with the huge letter H above it. 'Horde Catrina, apartment 127' okay well guess this was her life now, and it now resides in apartment 127.

After a bit of time, Scorpia and Entrapta had made their way out from the crowd around the bullion boards practically gleaming and grinning ear to ear.

"Uh, what made you two so happy?" Catra said eyeing the suspicious acting girls. Suddenly an ear piercing and ultimately unholy screech ripped through the air. The culprit? The bouncing pink sparkly girl jumping up and down.  _ 'Jesus everyone here is out of their fucking minds'  _ Catra thought, the ringing still prominent in the girls' sensitive ears. Just when Catra thought it was over she heard another unholy screech again and she was just about done with the yelling. "Hey, Sparky! What's with the yelling and screeching?" said Catra gripping her ears and holding them down to her head. All Catra got back was a glare before the tall blonde,  _ 'Adora..right? What a dumb name' _ , walked up and smiled, blushing at her friend's reaction.

"We all got put into the same apartment and she is super excited about it. She had been begging her mom to put us all together and I guess she got what she wanted" Adora said offering a kind side grin, pink lightly dusting her nose and cheeks.  _ 'it should be illegal to be so obviously hot’  _ Catra thought as she looked at Adora's stupidly cute face. "What is your apartment?".

Dumbly, Catra began to scramble for a response and managed to spit out "127 I believe,”. Adora just stared at her for a moment before she swore the girl's pupils became huge and sparkled with excitement. Before she could ask she was suddenly thrown into the air with huge muscular arms wrapping around her bouncing her up and down like she was nothing more than a paperweight.

"Oh! Me and Entrapta are in Apartment 127!!! Oh my gods this is so fun and amazing!" Scorpia said, still bouncing. Catra was finding it hard to breathe.

"Oh my gods! Me, Glimmer and Bow are in apartment 127!" Adora exclaimed happily and before anyone knew it Scorpia and Adora were bouncing together happily. 

With a gasp Bow squealed, "Oh my this is going to be so much fun I'm so excited!".

"Wanna all go together to the apartment now then?" Adora said with a huge smile on her face. With a nod from everyone and a grimace but a reluctant reply from Catra, they all walked off to find their new home for eight years.  _ 'this is going to be a very long eight years'. _

The group finally had made it to the living quarters of the school and found their apartment. Catra looked into the apartment and let her eyes wander. Inside the entrance was immediately a small living room with an open kitchen, an island bar splitting the two rooms. Walking father into the apartment the group noticed two hallways leading off in separate directions from the living room which Catra had assumed was probably their bedrooms and bathrooms. Upon further inspection, they noticed that there were plaques on the wall next to the bedroom doors with their names on them.

“So, they assign our bedrooms too? This is kinda bullshit” grumbled the unhappy magicat. 

“Are you always so negative or is being a bitch your personality?” Glimmer said, narrowing her eyes and taking a few steps towards Catra. Glimmer didn’t know why the feline rubbed her the wrong way but she was starting to think she was right in her assumptions that this girl was walking trouble.

“Glimmer!” exclaimed Bow as he pushed forwards from the back of the group, “that is no way to talk to new people!”. Scorpia stepped forwards crossing her arms, even with her soft personality she could still be daunting.

“Hey! Don’t talk to her that way. She’s just having a bad day” huffed out the large muscular women.

“Just because you’re having a bad day doesn’t mean you get to ruin everyone else's”. Glimmer was never one to back down from a fight. It doesn't matter if this woman had a two feet height difference on her. 

“Uh- guys, common- we are going to be living here together for a long time! We should all just unpack our stuff and calm down, we still have a lot to do today, it’s only 3 PM” Bow said interjecting himself in the middle of the argument breaking out.

“Bows’ right. We are going to be staying together for a long time and I don’t think Queen Angella would change our rooms just because some of us don’t get along immediately. We all have to make the most of what we have! Besides, I’m sure it just had been a long day. Let's unpack” Adora chimed in helping Bow end this squabble before a body-shaped hole wound up in the wall.  _ ‘Oh great, the leader, hero AND princess type. What is she gonna do next? Decorate the place with rainbows, unicorns, and one of those “you can do it!” poster?’. _

Catra wanted to throw herself off the roof of the Academy. She contemplated how she could ever bear to survive. Living in the same room with the big dumb blonde who was in the middle of hanging a picture of an alicorn ( _ “just a unicorn with wings” Adora said _ ).  _ ‘By the gods, somebody end my fucking misery’. _ It was indeed going to be a long few years.


	2. Nothing But Understanding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we start I wanted to clarify the relationship with Entrapta, Scorpia, Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle. Basically Scorpia, Entrapta, and Catra barely know one another. It will be elaborated on in future chapters but yeah if that wasn't clear. I'm such a bad writer lmfao.

Catra was in her room that she now shared with Adora Greyskull. Bow and Glimmer were in the same room together, and so was Entrapta and Scorpia. The rooms were a decent size, and she got the bed near the bay window. Catra didn't have many possessions, so she didn't spend long unpacking; she only had to put her clothes away. She also noticed that Adora didn't have much to unpack; moreover, it was honestly kinda weird, so she couldn't help but ask, "I thought princesses were supposed to have all kinds of useless stuff."

"Well, honestly, I'm not much of a princess. It's mostly an honorary thing, I guess," Adora said as she sat down on her bed next to her empty suitcase. She smiled contently as she kicked the empty bag onto the ground laying back, looking up at the ceiling. The response made Catra's ears perk.

"Honorary? Like, chosen and not birthright?" there was a hint of interest in Catra's voice. Adora obviously couldn't pick up on it, Adora just seemed happy they were having a conversation since it seemed like Catra wasn't into talking to other people.

"Yeah basically, I don't actually know my birth family, so I got adopted into a family that got me here, I guess. I've been with Glimmer and Bow for a couple of months now because of it too. How about you, Catra?" Adora flipped her head over to face Catra.

Catra responded by shaking her head, "Sorry, princess, my life story is a little too edgy for you and your horse bird thing." Catra had always been dismissive when it came to discussing her life, but she was not going to open up to this princess.

"Well, it's actually- he's an alicorn, but not the point. You don't have to tell me. I won't pry, but I am an open book. I don't mind if you ask me questions" God, why was Adora so sickly perfect? It was starting to piss Catra off, so now she wanted to try and press the other girls' buttons.

"Okay, so what royal family did you get adopted into? I mean, I never heard of the Greyskulls, so you're going to have to enlighten me" Catra's tail flicked absently as she tried to find a sensitive topic to push.

"Well, I don't know. My family is actually just my older sister, Mara, and Madame Razz. Razz is our family friend/grandma" God, why didn't Adora care about being vulnerable about opening up? Catra couldn't wrap her head around it. "Anyways, I got my last name and claim to royalty from Mara. I don't really get a lot of it, but basically, I took her mantle so she could finally be done with her work. Now I'm here, learning how to do all of that along with learning my powers"

"What are your powers?" Carta wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with talking to animals or-

"I can turn into an 8-foot warrior with super-strength," How Adora said that with such a deadpanned look was beyond Catra. She noticed Adora pointing to the sword rack she brought with her, "That's her sword, the sword of protection, right now that's the only real way for me to access my powers without accidentally blowing away an entire town. I'm still really new to all this" Adora was rubbing the back of her neck while a shade of pink played at the girl's cheeks. 

"8-foot tall warrior lady? Not what I expected, actually. I was starting to think you could talk to animals or some basic princess shit," Catra was not going to hold back prodding Adora, "Then, where is your kingdom?".

Adora shook her head, "No kingdom that I know exists. It is a little hard to explain actually, but I'm not the governing type, and it suits my abilities best to just go from kingdom to kingdom. I guess I'm going to have to have a kingdom at some point if Light Hope gets what she wants, I kinda have a castle made of crystal in the Whispering Woods, but it isn't populated".

The two girls lay on their beds as Catra kept trying to get to Adora only to have her answer without hesitation,  _ 'I feel like she charges into things without actually thinking, what an idiot. _ ' Adora never delayed answering, which was very confusing to Catra. Catra was never open about anything to anyone because you were never sure if you were giving away your weaknesses. She didn't speak to anyone other than to yell and try to claw their eyes out. Scorpia and Entrapta got some of her, but she never really opened up. They talked more as the minutes bled into hours just relaxing and making the bedroom more comfortable.

"So, are you sure I can't ask you just one question?" Adora gave Catra the cutest pouty face, and Catra was finding it hard to say no. She figured if anything that she could just lie. Catra nodded her head with the loudest sigh she could muster, almost smiling when Adora let out a squeal of excitement. "How soft are your ears, and would you ever let me touch them?".

Was Catra delusional, or did this girl just seriously ask that? For almost 3 hours, Catra had been pushing questions about Adora's life and relationships, and the one question Adora gets to ask Catra was about her ears? "Are- are you joking? I've been asking you nothing but super personal stuff all day, and that's the most important question you have?"

Adora started to laugh, really laugh, and it was mesmerizing. She laughed so freely with a cute little snort like she didn't care how she presented herself. "Well, obviously, it's not my biggest question, but you don't seem like an open person. If I asked something too big, you'd feel trapped and might shut down about it or lie. I don't want us to stop talking, so I just decided that I'll let you tell me stuff at your own pace or when it's relevant." Considerate. That was Adora's entire personality. Catra couldn't pin down why it pissed her off, but it did. A princess is a stuck up brat with an inflated ego. What else makes a princess if they don't act all entitled. Adora, however, was so bold and bright. She wasn't full of herself but still could carry herself like a leader. Adora was genuine. Catra? The two girls couldn't have been more opposing if they tried, yet they still had so much in common.  _ 'Damn, that pisses me off! I want to- to..punch her, I think?'. _

Just before Catra got a chance to try and offend Adora, they received a knock on their bedroom door. Adora jumped off her bed and swung it open. Standing in the doorway was the angry glitter bomb with a big mouth.

"Hey, our schedules just got here! Here is yours," Glimmer announced, handing over a paper, "I think we have a couple of classes together, but that's to be expected since we are also roommates like Ms. Castaspella said."

"Hey, what about mine, Sprinkles?" Catra leaped off the bed with grace and walked silently to Adora's side.

"Oh, common! You aren't even trying now!" the girl huffed, stomping on the ground. Soon, though, an evil smirk formed on her face, "and your schedule is with your personality, in the garbage." Before Catra could leap at Glimmer, Adora rolled her eyes and pulled apart her schedule to show another paper below hers. 

"This is your schedule Catra," Adora said with a smile.

"Oh common, you're no fun, Adora," whined Glimmer as she turned on her heel to head back down the hallway into the living room "we are going on our tour here in 30 minutes, so both of you be ready".

Shutting the door with a sigh, Adora gave an apologetic look to Catra who's ears were twitching with agitation. "Does she have to be such a royal pain in the ass? What's her deal all I did was poke fun at her stupid name".

"Well, it's no excuse, but Glimmer has always had a hard time with other people, she isn't exactly approachable sometimes, and she gets defensive easily. Don't take it too personally; she will get over it here in a few days" Adora seemed like she was reminiscing, not that Catra cared. She just rolled her eyes and walked back over to her bed, snatching her schedule in the process.

"Yeah, whatever not like I care or anything," dismissively waving her hand, she looked over her classes, "what the fuck is royal studies ?" Catra was already feeling her life force draining from something so dull.

"Gods that sounds so amazingly boring," Adora said, rubbing her neck again and laughing.  _ 'Oh, great! She can read thoughts now, too?' _ . "We should probably head out with the others for that tour!". Running out of the door, Adora jogged down the hall to catch the others. Rolling her eyes for what felt like the millionth time she hopped up and sauntered off, she didn't have anything else to do. 

***

Walking through the academy was going to take a while. The entire campus was huge, excluding the massive training grounds that seemed to expand over miles. This place had everything from tech rooms to sparring rooms all around. The library was vast, with enormous windows and bookshelves that had two whole floors. The mess hall was so grand it was mesmerizing. Everything in this place was to a grand scale; it was almost intimidating. Even with eight years in this school, Catra was pretty sure that she'd never get the chance to explore the entire campus. Apartments were in a separate building a couple of miles from the school with acres of land in between. It was truly magnificent and serene. Catra could maybe start to appreciate all the blinding colors for some peace secluded somewhere off near the lake located on campus. Then again maybe she wouldn't. Catra didn't know why she got hung up on spending her time here. She just couldn't choke the idea down for some reason, like she was missing a key element to making this make sense. While walking, Catra noticed that everyone in the little tour group seemed to know one another, so Catra hung back and stayed quiet. She didn't like having so many royals invade her personal space,  _ 'most of these people don't even know what personal space is.' _ Her eyes wandered as she looked around, letting herself get lost in thought. They were coming back to the school building to make their way to dinner. Catra had never really had expensive food because the Horde didn't believe in the more beautiful things, they wanted everything to be efficient over anything else, maybe that's why the Fright Zone kingdom had the mass production of technology. As much as she hates to admit it, she was looking forward to trying some of what Brightmoon had to offer. Suddenly, a familiar white-haired girl dragged Catra out of her thoughts by brushing up next to the girl.

"Hey, Wildcat! So, where are we going for dinner" Scorpia said with sparkles in her eyes.

"Uh, 'we'? I don't do togetherness and would rather eat alone," Catra gave Scorpia a raised eyebrow and put as much disdain in her tone as possible to clearly convey her feelings towards the idea.

"Well, I mean, everyone needs someone to talk things over. We could just go off, uh- together or something I-I mean, just the two of us?" Scorpia was now blushing, rubbing her forearm. Catra felt irritation start to bubble under her skin as she began to narrow her eyes,  _ 'Ugh, does she know what alone means?' _ . Catra just rolled her eyes and gave a menacing glare, "no." With a defeated sigh, she picked up her pace and walked next to the tall skinny girl with flowers all in her hair. 

It was apparent that Scorpia had a crush on Catra, that much was obvious, but it started to become evident everyone here had someone they were hanging onto. Friendship seemed to keep popping up since she walked through the doors of Brightmoon. Relying on someone? Pathetic. Shadow Weaver had told her countless times how useless it would be to waste her potential and energy worrying about others; it was the first time Shadow Weaver had told Catra she had any potential. The dip Catra's stomach was doing got instantaneously replaced with the feeling of a type of electricity; a shock ran through her body. Someone was touching her.

"Catra! Hi, I wanted to-" without even having a chance to finish her sentence, Entrapta was thrown over Catra's shoulder.

"No, and get off"

"I was just trying to get your attention, actua-"

"Entrapta, does this look like the face of someone who gives a fuck?" Catra was now giving Entrapta the most deadpanned look she could muster, pointing at herself.

"But I made a new friend named Emily, and I wanted you to-" before Entrapta could finish explaining Catra was flexing her claws, her knuckle joints popping with how tense she had become. "I see obvious signs of irritation, are you mad at me?" the realization was starting to show itself on her face.

"Go away, I've been bothered enough all day, and I just want to be left alone. Not dragged, questioned, or touched at all. I am still trying to find something good about being stuck here for almost a decade, and with you, it's proving difficult" Catra didn't know where all this sudden anger was coming from so unprovoked. Maybe it was because Catra felt like she hadn't gotten a break since she had gotten here. Everyone had been playing on her nerves like they didn't know how dangerous she was. Maybe she was overwhelmed with all these new surroundings and all this caring for one another speeches of teamwork. Perhaps it was because she knew everyone would hate her anyways because of how she acted, even though Catra didn't know any other way to behave, and felt she was beating them to the punch and hating them first. Regardless, her anger wasn't justified, and she knew it, but she refused to apologize, she would just do something to make up for it later. Catra had noticed a few eyes on her since she wasn't too far behind from the group, also the fact she had thrown Entrapta, and that was hard to miss. All she gave in response was a hiss and carry on walking past everyone. By the gods, she just had to get out of there.

***

Catra had decided that she would just steal some food and go back to her apartment. She grabbed some wrapped sandwiches and canned tuna and began to walk back towards the apartment buildings. She ate what she believed to be a Turkey sandwich as she walked into her apartment, making a B-line toward her shared room. Before she made it, however, she noticed someone lying down on the black sofa in front of the projected video in their living room.  _ 'who the hell is already back?' _

"Oh, hey," a voice rose as the person sat up; it was Adora, "I didn't know anyone would be back by now."

"Well, neither did I. How'd you get here so fast anyway? They just started dinner" Catra came to a halt, still carrying an armful of food.

"Oh, I just never went to dinner and just started walking back here. I mean, we have a kitchen and I think it’s easy to make food so I figured it would be better to come back" 

"Why not eat with the other princesses, though? I thought you were all best friends" while she said this, Catra noticed that Adora began to almost retreat into herself.

"I told you early today, I'm not really a princess, and with some of the things they say because of it...just doesn't feel like a great time. They have all these rules and drama and alliances. I can't keep up and don't wanna be treated like I'm stupid more than I already am, so I just would rather be away from it all if I can help it." Adora breathed out with her final words, she probably really wanted to get that off her chest. Gathering herself, she looked back into Catra's eyes, "How 'bout you?".

Catra looked Adora in her eyes; she was completely open. Could this girl even hide her emotions if she tried? Well, she could understand anyhow. It was late, and Catra didn't feel like keeping her uncaring facade up right now, so she answered. "I don't like crowds of stuck up bitches myself. I'm not exactly a people person" 

"Really? I would never have guessed with your inviting scowls and heartwarming threats to others wellbeing" Adora giggled as she spoke, her expression softening. Catra found that response to be rejuvenating rather than insulting, she wondered why. "Anyways, I'll leave you alone if you want. You didn't seem happy today during the tour so I wouldn't blame you if you wanted time alone"

Thoughtful. Catra hated thoughtful people. They were weak-willed and aimed to please. Her stomach was doing flips because of Adora, and Catra assumed this wasn't a good thing. Her expression contorted, finally wanting to ask, "Why the hell are you so nice to me all the damn time? Do you need other people's approval or something? Do you want something out of me? You don't know me yet you talk to me like you get me when you know nothing" Adora looked surprised at the outburst but gave a tight-lipped reply and waited for Catra to finish talking. "I don't understand at all. I haven't done anything nice to you, especially not to your friends, and you haven't even come at me once!" 

"Well you never actually did anything mean to me, so I figured it probably wasn't who you were" 

Catra realized she was right; the worst thing Catra had done was just try to pry into Adora's life. Catra felt invading personal boundaries was rude or irritating, but it slipped her mind. That's probably not how the world worked. The worst thing she did was try to get to know the girl unintentionally. "I guess you're right, but how can you talk like you just fully understand me when I've told you nothing about myself?".

"I don't know you, not yet. But I think I understand, just a little bit. I was just like you before I met Glimmer and Bow. Even now, I still get it, that anger when it feels like you're alone. It's like you've been screwed over, and we haven't even really lived yet, which sucks. Even if you have 20 friends, it can feel like none of them reach you; really understand what you've been through".

The two just looked at each other as it felt like time was very apparent; every second and minute had become conscious. Adora was someone who came to mind when Catra thought of royalty but also not. It was peculiar, but she kind of believed Adora, maybe she did understand. Catra had spent her entire life in what felt like fast forward mode. Everything and everyone speeding past her, and she didn't bother to get to know anyone, care for much or let herself think anything other than constant anger. But, maybe, she was starting to think that since her life got turned on its head since she was somewhere utterly new that perhaps she could try something new. Maybe she could let herself relax a bit and be understood for a moment. So many maybe's, she was so unsure of how to feel. Did she want to be understood? Yes. Did she really want just one person to agree with her and stand with her? Yes. Did she want the sensation of something other than anger? More than anything right now. Was Adora Greyskull the answer, sitting right in front of her looking her in the eyes, holding nothing back. _ 'I guess I am going to find out' _

"Do you think you understand? Like, I'm genuinely asking you, Adora. You think you get it?"

"I think I do. If I don't fully, then I think I want to. I have so many great friends, but they just don't get it, how could they? It's something you just can't be expected to understand unless you go through it yourself. I haven't really found anyone else with that struggle, but you seem like you got it when I was telling you earlier, it's the only reason I'm telling you now I guess" Was Adora just tired and rambling? She seemed pretty exhausted now that Catra was looking, but still, she made some sense.

With a solemn nod, Catra extended her hand with a wrapped sandwich, "Yeah, I understand, and I think you get it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop Whoop Whoop we having an opening for a potential relationship with this one person. Don't worry Catra actually works of her friendships with everyone but we all know that Catra wouldn't do something unless it was out of obligation at first. We will soon learn why muahahaha. Also, this series doesn't just follow Catra or Adora. We will bounce off other people here soon.


	3. It's Starting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, now we have progress. As of now, I have been updating every day so I hope I can keep up this momentum and push forwards. Now we get to meet others and have some action and laughs. I kinda wish I started this off another way but I made it work. I hope you enjoy this installment.

Glimmer was sitting in the grand mess hall looking at her best friend as he was screwing the back of his trackerpad in place. She smiled but then looked over to the empty seat she left for Adora who had told her previously she wasn’t feeling well and wanted to just go back to her room. She knew Adora was lying; that girl literally couldn’t lie to save her life. Glimmer knew Adora didn’t want to come because of what she heard Princess Frosta say about Adora, how she was only here because of her friendship with Glimmer and her privileged princess status meant nothing. Adora had no subjects and no kingdom, an empty title. Adora probably didn’t even care if she had subjects or not, but Adora didn’t like to be unliked, she always tried to be helpful to everyone around her. Princess Frosta was young; Glimmer heard that Frosta was exceptional in combat and had to take the throne early due to unknown circumstances. She probably just didn’t know that what she said was offensive. 

“Bow, should we go back to the apartment and check on Adora?” Glimmer’s worries apparent in her voice.

“Well, I think Catra is already doing that. Scorpia said that Catra went back to the apartment, or at least heading that way earlier.”

“That does not assure me in literally any way! Catra isn’t a nice person and doesn’t just help people” Glimmer was now throwing her hands up.

“Aw Glimmer, you don’t even really know her. She could just be having an awful day today.”

“Really? She kept calling me names and practically threw Entrapta, your friends! Even if she is having a bad day, it doesn’t make it okay! It just means she doesn’t care about other people” Glimmer was always judgmental at first, especially to people who made fun of her, but she did have a point.

Looking thoughtful, Bow began to nod, “Yeah, I see your point...but, Adora is a big girl. She can handle a terrifyingly strong cat girl. With razor-sharp claws and pointy canines,” looking slightly worried, he and Glimmer shared a glance and got up from their seats.

“Ugh, oh my gods. Just sit down, you two.” Tired eyes met their own as the girl with braided teal hair moaned out, “Adora is fine, you can’t keep trying to protect her from literally everyone. Plus, isn’t she like her roommate or something?”.

“Yeah, you’re right, Mermista. It doesn’t matter if they share one room anyways, huh” Glimmer said defeatedly, “But it doesn’t mean that Catra isn’t a bitch.”

“Are you sure you aren’t just mad because she called you Sprinkles?” Mermista had amusement in her tone, “you weren’t exactly trying to make the best first impression dude.”

“How did you-! Bow, did you tell her?” Glimmer felt her cheeks burning with growing embarrassment. 

“Well- I- It was creative!” 

Bow and Glimmer continued their friendly banter back and forth as Mermista turned back to her boyfriend-but-not-actually Sea Hawk, who was losing an arm-wrestling match. He was battling a very tall and muscular girl who kept referring to herself in the third person for some reason, Huntara.

***

Sitting on the beds in their room Adora and Catra munched quietly on a couple of sandwiches, contemplating their next moves. Catra had wound up reaching out to Adora, but now she was having second thoughts because she didn’t even know what to say from here. She wasn’t about to dump 12 years of issues onto this girl who said she would be willing to understand Catra, which sounds delusional. Catra just didn’t know how to proceed, luckily Adora had an idea.

“So, I was thinking that-if you wanted-we could be friends in this room?” Adora carefully said like she was coming up with the idea as her words left her mouth.

“What do you mean?” Catra wasn’t about to shoot down the idea since she couldn’t even think of one thing to say, so something was better than nothing.

“Well, like since you don’t like talking or confiding in anyone, I think you could make this room your safe haven for whatever you’re feeling, including me, since I kind of come with the room. You don’t have to, but it’s just a suggestion. I just figured you liked privacy with these things” Again, with the consideration, this girl probably won’t last another week without giving actual pieces of herself away. Catra thought about the implications of this proposal, _ ‘ So I can talk about stuff whenever I want to. Almost as if this place is separate from the rest of the world, how do I even know she would keep that promise and not walk away with everything I say and use it against me’ _ . As though Adora could read Catra’s mind, she piped up again, “And I would always tell you something about me too, so you weren’t alone in sharing yourself. That’s only fair.”

“Okay, princess, I’m going to need you to stay out of my head for a bit ’cause now it’s just getting freaky. Are you a mind reader?”

“Haha, no, sorry, I just thought that it would be stupid to ask for you only to share stuff about you.”

“I don’t know. I’m not the hidden sentimental type if that’s what you’re thinking, blondie.”

“Good, neither am I. I don’t like being a burden on others, but I meant to complain about anything. I kinda like to punch my feelings out” Adora made her point by pushing her hand.

“You like to spar?”

“All the time! Fighting is so freeing and easier to do than sit still and talk stuff over. Bow disagrees with me, so sometimes I just do what he suggests.” 

“Okay, let’s do that then. We can complain and fight one another to let off steam. Makes this much more interesting.” Catra figured this was better than getting jealous about everything and throwing girls over her shoulder.

Excitedly Adora flew to her feet and held out her hand, “Sounds like a deal, kitten.”

Catra grabbed her hand and replied, “Careful princess, sounds like fighting words.”

***

When Glimmer and Bow finally left the mess hall, they were joined by Entrapta, Scorpia, Purfuma, Huntara, Mermista, and Sea Hawk. During the tour, Bow had found his old friend Sea Hawk, and they met up with Mermista. Scorpia had made friends with Princess Perfuma and had been talking throughout the entire meal. At the end of the first day, they shared schedules, spoke about their future classes, and found their apartments were close to one another. Mermista, Seahawk, Purfuma, and Huntara shared a residence along with princess Frosta and another royal named Tung Lashor in apartment 123. The group collectively decided they wanted to hang out another day and went to their respected living quarters. The group of eight turned to four and pushed themselves past the front door.

During dinner, Glimmer had let her mind wander, thinking about all the trouble Catra could cause, but nothing seemed out of place. It didn’t even look like anyone had been in the apartment. Glimmer was almost considering she had the wrong impression of the magicat until she heard footsteps coming out from the side hall.

“Arrow boy, Sparky. Dinner done already?” Catra said with faked interest. Adora was closing their bedroom door following Catra out into the living room, “What did you have? 5-course meal and couldn’t make the dessert?”.

“You are so obnoxious! We don’t even have one foot in the door, and you’re already terrible” Glimmer wasn’t about to put up with this, “I can’t believe I’m stuck in this place living with you.”

“Wow, and here I thought this was both our ideal version of a perfect school year” Catra’s words were dripping with sarcasm. She walked around the sofa and tossed her body haphazardly onto the couch. Glimmer rolled her eyes, not having the energy to still be angry, and looked towards Adora.

“Feeling any better?” Glimmer knew what was going through Adora’s head but didn’t want to call her out on it if she didn’t want to talk. Surprisingly Adora did seem to be feeling much better, or she suddenly gained the ability to act. 

“Yeah, I am. I just was lying on the couch thinking before Catra got here, and then we just hung out” Scorpia’s head jerked up from hearing this like it was unthinkable, the face she made was hard to decipher as well. 

Bow walked up and put his hand on Glimmer’s shoulder “Well since Catra asked-”

“I was not serious,” groaned the feline as she dragged her hands down her face. A strange melody played without warning, causing everyone to jump and look around for the source of the sound. Moments later, the table in front of the couch opened a small compartment, and a hologram was on the wall of their living room.

“Oh! We have a message!” Entrapta practically thrusted herself forwards, almost landing on Catra but stopped herself with her hair just in time. She shoved her face right in the light of the projector table, “Fascinating!”

Bow shook his head as he walked behind the couch. Adora just grabbed Catra’s ankles, almost losing her fingers in the process, and threw her legs to the side and sat down on the sofa. Glimmer decided to sit at the feet of Adora while Scorpia scooped up Entrapta and stood next to Bow.

The hologram played another melody and then suddenly showed a young person sitting at a desk. They had green skin and bleach blonde hair with one side shaved. They gave a toothy charismatic smile and twirled in their chair, “Good evening Brightmoon Academy! Welcome to the first installment of my newest endeavor, Bright New Drama! The name is Double Trouble. Some of you know me from my most stellar performances, as you should, but here I am in Brightmoon at last. Sorry if I kept you waiting.”

Catra jumped to attention and let out an undignified scoff, “This snake again!” 

“Well, I mean, technically they are a lizard” Scorpia raised a corrective claw.

“Not my point Scorpia.”

Glimmer then looked up at Catra, “You know this person?” 

Catra could practically feel her fur bristle at the mere sight of this traitorous asshole “Yeah, and we didn’t part on good terms.”

“Do you even have good terms to leave off on?” Glimmer deadpanned.

“Eh, not really. Guess it isn’t that big a shock I have enemies.” Catra could feel the overwhelming silent agreement to her statement,  _ ‘ fair enough.’ _

“Bright New Drama is the news series I will be doing to keep all you updated on what’s going on here at Brightmoon. I’ll talk about classes, announcements, and all that boring stuff but also the social scene.” Double Trouble pulled themselves over the desk, crossing their legs and folding their hands together to put under their chin, leaning on their elbows. “as we all know, everything good happens behind closed doors. I will entertain you all with an amazing performance. I hope everyone is ready for this school year. It is going to be electric. I can hardly contain myself!” Double Trouble pulled back, clapped their hands, grabbed a stack of papers, and straightened them out on the desk. “So, the clubs and sports fair will be held during the grace period, and it is encouraged that you join something to help out the academy. People want to see your amazing talents, so don’t be shy; I personally lead the Drama Club. There will be booths set up on the main road to the school building, so go by and check it out! The assembly going over the expectations for the start of the school will begin your classes. Our first day is up, so make sure you get your schedule changes in-” The broadcast went on for a bit longer talking about the clubs and sports fair the next day and teacher messages. Closing the broadcast Double Trouble left with a wink and kiss towards the audience.

With a decided nod, Scorpia began to walk into their room, “Well, I want to go to that fair thing, so I’m gonna get some sleep. Goodnight, guys!” Catra had noticed the girl falter for a split second before going into her room, Entrapta still in her arms.  _ ‘what’s wrong with her?’ _

Yawning Bow walked around the couch in the same direction as Scorpia, stopping to look at Glimmer, who was pulling herself up. “Yeah, we have all had a long day apparently. I’m going to go to sleep too,” Glimmer said, eyeing Catra, who just scoffed in response. Soon it was only Adora, and Catra left alone again.

“Ugh, I’m going to sleep, so I don’t die of boredom,” Catra droned as she vaulted over the couch like a sport and walked towards her room. Suddenly she got an evil idea and pushed herself into the doorframe, “coming, Adora?” Catra could feel the blonde girl tense up as her face began to glow. Adora threw her hands over her face in response as Catra gave a hearty chuckle as she shook her head, “You are so easy.”

Slowly, Adora pulled her hands away from her face and mustered up her courage, “I bet I can make you eat those words.” Catra froze for a moment as her brain tried to reboot after hearing such a suggestion. Not trusting herself with words, she just turned on her heels and walked into her room. Point Adora.

***

The group walked through the crowded paved road leading to the primary school building lined with booths and vendors. Catra wanted to skip the fair, but she also didn’t want to sit alone in the apartment for the rest of the day. Besides, they had good street food, according to Adora. She had told her while she was talking Catra’s ear off this morning while getting ready, trying to convince Catra to go. Catra would hate to admit how fast she was warming up to the tall blonde, but it was hard not to in all honesty. If someone had told her that Adora’s smile was that contagious, she never would have let herself give Adora an inch, but she had, and with that inch, Catra’s heart went a mile. It was like a disease, infectious, and hard to combat with pure will-power. It had reminded her of the time Catra had tried not talking to anyone because she was upset but couldn’t help making fun of the wimpy scrawny kid. 

“Hey, Wildcat, what do you think of joining the drama club with me?” Scorpia scooted herself up to Catra. 

“I would rather someone shoot me in the head and make me into a rug,” Catra replied with a monotone unenthusiastic response.

Scorpia laughed, placing a giant claw on Catra’s shoulder.  _ ‘ I am just gonna have to get this touching thing with her, huh.’  _ Catra let a small smile form on her face, it was very faint. She could tell Scorpia had been trying hard to have some type of connection with Catra, her tenacity was something to be applauded. Scorpia was very loyal, almost to a fault. _ ‘ Why are my first thoughts always about someone’s weaknesses?’  _

“Hey, what’s this!” Entrapta’s voice pushed Catra out of her thoughts as the girl started to inspect the robotics club booth. Her eyes were practically the size of saucers, and she was immediately enamored. Guilt slowly ebbed at Catra as she watched the whimsical girl. Catra had tried to convince herself that because Entrapta was always moving onto the next thing that she wasn’t hurt by what had happened yesterday. As much as she had tried, Catra knew this was a broken way of thinking but just couldn’t push herself to apologize; instead, she did the next best thing she could think of doing. Walking over to the bakery stand, Catra got a tray of mini cupcakes and slipped back almost unnoticed. 

Adora had made eye contact with her as she walked back like she had been watching her this entire time and not focusing on the fair she was so adamant Catra attended.  _ ‘ No, it was a coincidence she was looking over here, I did just get up and walk away for a bit’ _ Catra tried to reason with her growing heartbeat. Closing her eyes and shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she walked over to Entrapta and tapped on the girl’s shoulder, “for yesterday,” she mumbled, shoving the small tray into Entrapta’s chest. Entrapta looked at the plate and grabbed it without batting an eyelash.

“Ohhhh! They’re so tiny and cute!” Entrapta squealed over the pastry. In the corner of Catra’s eye, she saw Bow acknowledge her with a thumbs up and nudge Glimmer with his elbow and smile. The pink girl just rolled her eyes and nudged Bow back in the gut, ‘ _ Wait, are those two friends or dating? It’s a little hard to tell’  _ . Deciding she didn’t want to get into drama this soon in the school year, she pretended to look at clubs.

The group moved forwards until Adora had practically gasped and yanked Catra so fiercely she felt her soul take a mini vacation. Before Adora could get chewed out for invading Catra’s personal space yet again, she saw the empty booth with a banner for something called ‘Magix Duel.’ Yanking her arm out of Adora’s tight grip, she rubbed the spot she had been grabbed, “What is Magix Duel, and why are you so excited about it you’re risking your life dragging me around to see it?”.

Glimmer jumped into the conversation before Adora could open her mouth to answer, “Magix is basically an Olympic style sport where they have different categories where you battle one another for the gold. They had stuff like battle royals and team deathmatches! Aw, it’s so intense too, you’ve gotta fill all these standards before you can even compete so they know if you’re even worth letting in the ring!” Glimmer was practically bouncing up and down as she explained the sport. Catra immediately shared the same enthusiasm as Adora.

“Okay, that sounds like one of the coolest things here!” Catra was purring at the idea of beating people to a bloody pulp.

“Right? I’ve been looking forward to this ever since I heard about it! It was like it was made for me!” Adora was squealing. Catra wasn’t surprised after learning this girl loved anything that included fighting. “Glimmer, are you going to sign up?”

“Ha! Glimmer could only sign up if her mom suddenly lost her vision! Same here, my dads would never let me compete even if I really really wanted to! They still think I’m just studying history” Bow sounded defeated until he gave an inward chuckle and grabbed Glimmer, bringing her into a huddle. After a few moments of inaudible whispering, Bow was almost tackled to the ground by Glimmer throwing her arms around the boy.

“Bow! You’re a genius!” Glimmer practically was glowing when she and Bow ran off in the direction they had just come from. Scorpia looked at Catra and Adora, very confused as Adora just shrugged in response and turned back to the booth. 

“So Catra, you wanna sign with me?” Adora wiggled her eyebrows like the dork she is.

“Obviously. I get the opportunity to beat your ass and get a medal for it. Sounds like paradise.” Catra began pushing Adora, fighting for the pen to write her name on the sheet. “Scorpia, you gonna join?”

“Oh, even though imma Force Captain, I don’t really uh, fight for sport, so I’m gonna pass. But I’ll be your number one fan!” Scorpia was now slightly blushing. Catra shrugged in response.

“Okay, princess, time to see who the better warrior is!” Catra crossed her arms and turned her body away to turn her head and stick her tongue out at Adora.

“Oh, you are so going down, kitten,” Adora said with a playful growl that made Catra’s stomach feel funny. 

“Maybe we should start school before we go and start competitions for stuff that happens mid-year,” Glimmer said, suddenly appearing out of a cloud of glitter. Catra almost jumped three feet in the air in surprise, yelping. The group laughed as they all came together again as Catra felt her heart race.

“Jesus, why does the most annoying person here get such an obnoxious power” Catra exclaimed, probably to herself. Instead of saying something back, Glimmer just smirked and continued walking, the group soon followed. Before everyone knew it, another day had passed: school was starting, and everything was kicking off into full swing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and having a good time with me. I like comments, so don't be afraid to leave one. I will be uploading a one-shot or short story soon, so if you want something else to look forward to that might be dropping today as well since I have these chapters pre-written the day before. Be on the lookout, and I will see you tomorrow.


	4. Physical Education

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. I was working on other stories and we are moving house so internet and such has been sporadic. Thanks for understanding. Also, I did an illustration for this chapter and might do more in the future because I had fun. Tell me if you like it. Pt 2 coming soon

The sounds of happy birds made it's way into the classroom as Catra looked out the window. This was the first class of the day, Social magic economics. It was as dull as it sounded. Catra was beginning to regret not sharing her schedule with anyone because she didn't know who was in what class. Maybe if someone she could annoy were here, it would defeat her boredom. The professor was droning on about metal and resources; it was all useless to Catra; she wouldn't need it. Minutes seemed to drag as she sketched on her notebook and let her mind wander. 

The bell finally rang and yanked Catra from her comatose state of boredom. She packed up her things swiftly and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper that was her schedule looking for her next class. 'Physical Education' that had to be more interesting than wants and needs. She made her way outside and ran into a familiar blonde girl who looked as perplexed as she did pretty  'wait what the fuck? I need to stop calling her hot'.

"Catra! Hey, do you know where the training grounds are? I have PE, and I think that was a class we shared" Adora looked so kind and bright. Almost too bright for 8 AM. Catra felt like she was looking at the sun.

"Uh, didn't you pay attention when we were touring?" Catra rolled her eyes but kept pace with Adora to lead her to their next lesson. 

"I was paying attention! I just was kinda talking too." 

"Riiiight, whatever you say, princess" Adora was blushing a bit, but Catra assumed it was from embarrassment,  'Adora would never feel that way about me. Not in my wildest dreams!'. 

Swiftly the pair made their way to massive training grounds. The field had equipment meant for a lot of things, including an entire obstacle course in a giant tree. From bars to a sparring mat, this place was equipped with everything. Adora's eyes were the size of saucers. 

"I know I've seen it before, but man! I love this place," Adora squealed as Catra sighed. Catra did like to move and work out but not like Adora, regardless it was cute to watch Adora make her happy noises.  'Since when did I keep track of that sort of thing?'. 

Catra finally looked away from Adora; it was a struggle and saw her classmates. She recognized almost everyone. Mermista, Perfuma, Frosta, Scorpia, Lonnie, Kyle, Rogelio, Sea Hawk, Glimmer, Bow, Huntara, and Entrapta were in this class. There were some she didn't know. Some girl with ram horns coming out of her head talking to Huntara. Another red-skinned reptile kid with a kinda cool black leather jacket,  I'm gonna take that.' A long-haired blonde girl with red highlights looking like she wanted to murder everyone standing with a jock looking boy with short curly black hair and mocha-colored skin, his smile was carefree with an expression of peace. It was quite the contrast. Each was in their little groups but seemed familiar with everyone else.

Even though Catra had wished for more people she knew in a class, she wanted to take it back. She understood why most of them were in the same class; they were runestone princesses. Princesses with stones have amplified powers and the largest kingdoms, which also meant they had the biggest egos. Same power levels so they would need the same PE. Catra wanted to avoid them at all costs. Before she had the chance to vocalize her hatred, she was being pulled on by Adora to go over. 

"Hell no, Adora. You can go hang out with the pretentious princesses all you want on your own, but leave me out of it." Catra had always been stubborn. Nothing was going to change that. 

"Aw, please? I know them, and they're not that way," Adora trailed off as she thought slightly more on her words "not all of them are that way! Perfuma and Huntara are super chill. Plus, aren't you friends with Scorpia, Entrapta, and the group of three?"

"Scorpia isn't really a princess since the whole war thing, Entrapta isn't a runestone princess, and Lonnie, Kyle, and Rogelio aren't friends. They are squadmates. There is a difference. Also, I don't even think Entrapta is supposed to be here." 

***

The group had noticed immediately when Adora and Catra came into view. Catra looked like she was rolling her eyes and smiling at whatever was making Adora wildly swing her arms around. Catra wasn't horrible, and Glimmer knew that deep deep down. She was just so quick to snipe at anyone in a 5-foot radius of her, and it just did not mix well with Glimmer's constant skepticism and reluctance to talk or trust anyone. "Oh, hey! Wildcat!" Scorpia began to call out until Glimmer stopped her. 

"Let's just wait and see if they walk over" Glimmer gave an apologetic smile, but something told her if she let Scorpia yell out, it wouldn't end in a happy Catra. 

"Who is that next to Adora? Is that her dangerous roommate you were so worried about?" Mermista looked up from her chipping turquoise nails. 

"That is the future Lord of the Horde. Catra Horde," Frosta gave a glaring cold look. Glimmer had told Frosta what had happened with Catra, and it was apparent Frosta did not like her. "Another fake royal if you ask me. She doesn't abide by any of the customs or show up to anything!"

"Hey, she isn't bad. Maybe a little bit angry sometimes, but she's just misunderstood" Scorpia was confident when defending her friend. 

"Scorpia is right. She is a bit scary sometimes, but she isn't bad. Once I caught her drinking milk out of her cereal bowl at midnight, and it was adorable. SHE WAS PURRING AND EVERYTHING." Bow's voice got squeaky as he remembered the treasured sight.

"Yeah, then she threw the bowl at your head and smashed the window behind you! We are lucky Entrapta can weld." Glimmer shook her head and glanced over to watch Adora try to pull Catra over.

"She just sounds like she has misplaced anger. Maybe I can help her." Perfuma gave a sweet smile as she spoke, Scorpia blushed.

"Okay, well, maybe you should help her now cause I think Adora is trying to convince her to come over." Mermista looked so disinterested but didn't break her gaze away. Everyone knew Mermista was a sleuth and liked to know other people's business.

"Then I shall convince the maiden with one of my sea shanties! OOOOH~," Sea Hawk began before Mermista slapped her hand over his mouth.

"Absolutely not. If she kills you, I won't even be surprised," Mermista grimaced.

***

The singing is what made Catra plant her two claws deeper in the soft soil, and Adora began pushing her closer.

"Adora! No! They're singing! That is literally torture!" Catra felt like she was using all of her body's strength to stand her ground. It was hard with Adora being so fucking built.

"It's fine! It's only Sea Hawk, and no one would be too upset if you punched him," Adora's voice strained as she applied more force. She didn't want to hurt Catra. Maybe it was time for plan B. "Ethier, you start walking, or I'm going to have to go with another course of action."

"You don't have the guts"

"Watch me" 

Adora stopped pushing and swiftly spun around, ducking low and wrapping her arms around Catra's waist. Before Catra could get out of the hold, it was too late, and she was being hoisted into the air. Her back was on one of Adora's broad shoulders, and as much as she tried to whip around and get away, she couldn't.

"I will rip out your fucking eyes, Adora! Put me down!" Catra didn't know where this girl thought she got off just grabbing Catra, but it was not going to go unpunished.

"No, you won't! Then you wouldn't be able to spar with me!" Adora started jogging over while keeping Catra steady.

"I'm willing to make the sacrifice!" 

"Just be nice!"

"I'll be nice when the fucking underworld freezes over, and pigs grow wings!" Catra grabbed Adora by her hands and wiggled enough to have her feet hit the ground. She threw her elbow back, connecting it with Adora's stomach. "I'm so kicking your ass now!" 

"Bring it kitty cat," Adora said, smugly recovering from the wind that got knocked out of her.

The groups of onlookers watched as the two grappled each other laughing. They had been growing closer, not that Catra would ever admit it, by sparring at night and staying up just talking about stupid little things. Catra didn't think much of it, knowing Adora's favorite colors and her favorite shows. It was all insignificant, right? Then why was she reacting to Adora this way? She physically had to stop herself from giggling and smiling every two seconds, reprimanding herself for thinking of her radiant smile. This was unnatural.

Moments later, the class had started; Catra was thankful because she had managed to avoid talking with the princesses. Coach Netossa blew her whistle to get the attention of the students. 

"Alright, everyone! This is an advanced training course. You will be improving your magic and physical capabilities at an accelerated rate and also a bigger scale. Your powers and attributes complement one another; those of you who don't have a runestone manage to build enough strength to compete with their natural-born magic, be proud. This is not the same as your Magic Performance class. Shadow Weaver teaches that for practical spells and overall sorcery. This is meant for combat, though we don't like it sometimes we gotta fight." Netossa looked over the crowd and nodded her head, and she drew her clipboard out from under her arm. "Alright, today we are just going to do some exercise and matches. We have to do tests to see where you are and where to improve. After that, I will pair you up for sparring matches." 

Everyone agreed with a nod or eye roll. When Netossa was done talking, Catra took her chance and pinned Adora to the ground. A devilish smirk played at her face as she drew in closer, mischievous glint in her eyes.

"That's 2 for me, princess" Catra was almost purring. The feeling between the two was electric, and it would have been better if she wasn't in the air again being suffocated by a hug.

"Hey, Wildcat! Aw, man! I can't believe we have this class together. Now I get why you didn't show me your schedule. You wanted it to be a surprise if we got a class together. Oh, you are clever" Scorpia was practically throwing the feline girl around in the air. In response, Catra whipped around wildly.

"Scorpia! Put me down!" Aggressively pushing on the other girl's face, Catra was finally released from the deadly hug. She hit the ground and let out a low growl, the hackles of her neck raised. 

"Oopsie, Haha, sorry. It's that personal bubble thing, right?" Scorpia let out a sheepish laugh. Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle laughed from a distance. They were only quieting down when Catra sent glaring daggers their way.

"Hi, Catra! I see we are in the same physical education class! Could I maybe, possibly get you to put on these electrodes to help with my research on your biology?" Entrapta practically popped out from seemingly nowhere and immediately got in Catra's face.

Catra pushed the girl's face away as she was staring into Catra's eyes. "Okay, first, no. Last time I let you do anything even near me, my tail caught on fire. Second, tracking my biology? I don't even want to know what that means but refrain from doing it" Catra could feel her eyebrow twitching in frustration as she closed her eyes to calm down. Too much too fast. 

"Wow, you almost seem approachable today. In a good mood?" Glimmer remarked with a smug expression. Oh, this was going to be the worst class she had.

"Watch yourself, Sparkles. I get the opportunity to punch you here without getting in trouble. I'm very willing to take it."

Glimmer felt her temperature rise, "I take it back; you're just as insufferable as ever."

"Me? Have you looked in the mirror lately? Cause to me it seems like you forgot what a bitch looks like" 

Immediately Adora jumped in between Glimmer and Catra before they could get into an unofficial deathmatch. 

"Hey! Why don't we start already! Me and Catra are going to go to the tree to work on upper body stuff! I'll meet up with you guys after I'm done" Adora was dragging a smug-looking Catra behind her. Glimmer looked like she was ready to fight while Catra stuck her tongue out. 

***

After some warm-ups, Netossa blew her whistle again and called everyone over. "Okay, we are going to do some basic tests. First, we are going to do strength and force testing. For strength, you're going to be bench pressing the maximum amount of weight you can. Don't be discouraged if you don't get the numbers you want. There are other tests. First, Princess Perfuma."

The students went one after another. Perfuma could only bench the bar. Scorpia, Huntara, Adora, and Tung Lashor,  'His parents did not love him if that's his name,'  Were the top lifters. Not surprising since the four looked like they lived for the gym. Catra's lifting wasn't horrible, but it wasn't noteworthy. She wasn't discouraged, though, because her strength was in her speed and agility. Her lack of disappointment could have also come when seeing Adora wipe her face with the bottom of her shirt, Catra swears she wasn't looking.

For the next test, they just had to punch a pad connected to some machine that would tell you the force of your punch. Perfuma again did amazingly poorly. She looked like she was built like a pool noodle, no one was shocked, but Socrpia did give her an encouraging hug and smile. Glimmer gave one hell of a punch when it was her turn, looking straight at Catra.  ' okay, maybe I should let up on the teasing thing. My life may be in danger if I keep messing with someone I live with'. Catra's punch was fast. Everyone looked taken back because her fist connected with the pad before anyone had the chance to register she was moving. Her hit was powerful, given her size and strength to boot. 

"Nice hit Catra. You move fast and hit hard for your size. I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that" Coach Netossa praised her. Unexpected. No one had praised her like that. Except for Scorpia and Adora, but they were her friends. They were supposed to do that out obligation,  'Wait when did I start thinking of Adora as a friend? Get it together, Catra!'. To Catra's surprise, a lot of her peers looked impressed to some extent. Well, all but that murderous looking blonde chick. 

Adora stepped up to the proverbial plate. She took a long deep breath closing her eyes. It looked like she was trying to concentrate on herself. Some eyebrows raised while others just scoffed. Before anyone could vocalize how dramatic she made this look, she opened her eyes, showing off electric crystal blue eyes. Immediately she threw a punch and hit the pad with such velocity it shuttered and groaned. The numbers on the screen flashed as it kept growing.

"That wasn't all my strength. I just didn't want to send this thing flying," Adora said with a confident look. It was evident after many of Catra and Adora's midnight battles that both loved to win. They had kept track of their victories, and they had been tied until Adora gave Catra a look. It was practically saying Adora 3, beat that Catra.

"I expected nothing less of She-ra. But I'm guessing you're limited right now? Don't overdo it" Netossa gave her a smirk before just writing down what looked like an infinity sign under Adora's strength stats. 

Again the same people got high scores, unsurprising. Now it was time for Catra's favorite, agility, and speed testing. This was going to be exciting.  'Get ready, princess; I'm gonna rock your world.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! I look forward to your feedback. My Instagram is @Spiriteslife cause I upload my art there and you might get pictures for the series sooner 0,0.


	5. Pot Meet Kettle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, there are three parts and the next part will contain a bit of angst. I didn't realize I had already written a lot for the chapter but pacing? Help? Anyways I drew some stuff to help with the visuals so yay. The next update won't is a week-long wait like usual because I had honestly just split the chapter. expect it soon.

Running was Catra's element. Climbing, jumping, running. No one here was going to beat her, and she was going to make sure everyone knew it. 

"Alright, this is going to be an obstacle course. All you've got to do is grab a marker at the end of the course. When I press the button to start the markers, a timer will begin; when you grab one, the timer stops immediately. The class will be watching on this holoprojector, so no cheating. Rules are simple; No magic, no violence. You will be called in groups. Understood?" Netossa looked at the students with an expectant look. In response, the students gave half hearted replies. "Tung Lashor, Glimmer Moon, Perfuma Bud, Catra Horde; Step up."

Catra stepped up and glanced at her competition. This was going to be a cinch. When Netossa's whistle blew, Catra sped off like a bullet. Running made Catra feel free. The burn in her legs was as thrilling as her heart beating like a war drum. The first obstacle was hurdles, and they couldn't even be counted as more than an inconvenience to Catra. Leaping with precision, the magicat landed on the second-highest bar and cleared the rest with a second bound. 

Next, there was a 15 ft rope wall. This one would cause some issues, but it wouldn't slow Catra down tremendously. She leaped onto the ropes and shimmered her way up at a moderate pace. Before she could reach the top, however, she felt the lines shifting rapidly. Looking down, Catra made eye contact with Glimmer as she clamored her way up the ropes wall trying to shake Catra up as she went.  _ 'So, she knows how to play dirty too? Annoying...but fair. Guess it's time to amp up my game'. _ Catra waited for another tremor in the ropes to kick off the thick cables and drag her toe claws down, causing the ropes to cut and snap. Scrambling back up to make it look like an accident, she scurried the rest of the way upwards. 

Smooth platforms turned at an angle zigzagging upwards towards the large tree. The tree had three platforms with different obstacles and, at the top, looked to be the end. With a great start, Catra ran on all fours jumping towards the closest platform. Keeping steady was challenging, but she managed and made her way towards the first platform. The other racers had finally made it on the rope wall while Glimmer narrowed her eyes at Catra. 

The first platform contained rotating wing chun wooden dummies blocking her path. Getting through this wouldn't be as easy as the leading obstacles. One good hit would send you off the edge of the platform and onto the safety net crafted by Netossa. Catra assessed the patterns and speed of the dummies; her eyes were gliding through the field as she mapped out a path in her head. 

_ 'Six...five...two...three..? What's the pattern?'  _ her trained eyes widened at the realization,  _ 'The even dummies rotate faster, and they line up with the odd-numbered dummies making a small enough path to get through. If I wait for one more rotation, I can get through!'  _ Catra smirked to herself. Suddenly, a figure moved behind Catra, causing her to step back, almost knocking her over the edge. Using her tail to retain balance, she caught a glimpse of the red reptilian boy barge past her, laughing like an overzealous villain. He made one jump and was instantly tossed off the platform. Looking back, Catra saw the other students catching up.

Turning back to the maze of rotating wooden rods, Catra calmed herself down and honed her focus.

_ 'Three,' _ she tilted forwards onto the pads of her feet.

_ 'Two'  _ shoulders tensed as she got low to the wood beneath her.

_ 'One' _

She took off like a predator. To anyone watching Catra, they were immediately captivated. Her movements were graceful yet powerful. From her head to the tip of her tail Catra's body twisted and contorted with the utmost control. 

Clearing the platform, she raced up the stairs to the second challenge.  _ 'Oh, fuck me.' _ The second platform had smooth pillars that lead to the last platform with even more wing chun dummies on the ground rotating even faster.  _ 'Okay, so. Those pillars look slippery, and those rotating logs look like they hurt. Oh, and how could I forget the 50-foot drop to the net? Is this even safe? Who in their right mind thought this through'. _

Catra slightly panicked as she looked for a way up to higher ground. Climbing in the Fight Zone was easy because of all the platforms. Even if they were all-metal, Catra could always catch herself and throw her body around without risk. This was different. It was only now occurring to Catra that this was a relatively open area. The only wall she had was the trunk of the tree.  _ 'Wait. Duh!'.  _

With a mental slap to the forehead, the feline girl reared up and dodged the arms of the wing chun as she raced towards the tree. Latching onto the surprisingly soft bark, she pulled herself up and began to make her way to the third platform, avoiding everything else in her way.

"Hey! that's cheating!" A familiar voice yelled up towards Catra, causing her to falter and slip. Whipping her head around, she saw the glittery pink princess huff and stomp her foot. 

"No, it's not, I'm using my physical abilities," Catra stuck out her tongue, and she scampered up higher.  _ 'I hope Adora sees me...just so she knows I'm better than her!...obviously' _

***

Watching Catra move on the holoprojector was like a gift from the gods themselves. That girl could move. The way she used her body weight so effortlessly and how fluently she moved sent a shiver down Adora's spine. Captivated by everything about this girl, her mind began to wander.  _ 'I didn't know she could move like that. I wonder how low she could get' _ Adora blushed furiously as she caught herself thinking about Catra and her body. Bow noticed and gave Adora a quizzical look before shaking his head. Adora swore, she heard him mutter "useless lesbian."

***

Glimmer didn't want to lose. Catra was insufferable, and Glimmer wanted to wipe that smug look that seemed to be always plaster on her face. Without timing, the swinging poles Glimmer charged through. One of the rods came swinging full force towards Glimmer's stomach. Without much time to brace herself, she put her arms forward and jumped. Gripping onto the wood was hard without claws, and it was notably more laborious when the platform beneath you suddenly disappeared. Hanging on for her life (even if there was a safety net) was Glimmer's top priority as she was swinging over the edge. 

She closed her eyes and held on tight as and was soon flung back onto the platform and onto the first pillar. Letting her heart rate slow for a moment, she realized doing this without relying on the power to teleport was exhilarating.  _ 'I'm so going to do this again!'. _ Glimmer steeled her nerves and narrowed her eyes at Catra, who was still trying to climb to the third platform, slipping every so often due to the tree's bark. Glimmer began to run and jump to the next pillar.  _ 'I'm going to win this!' _

***

Princess Sparkles-Spice and everything nice was gaining ground quickly. Climbing the trunk of the tree may have been safer, but it was apparent the pillars may have been a better route. Catra doubled her efforts and found her footing on the platform while Glimmer was trying to pull herself up the third pillar; she had slipped her second jump. Catra looked around and saw the markers placed on the thick branch of the tree that was close to the platform floor. Just as she began to sprint over, she saw a flash of pink. Glimmer was suddenly standing in front of Catra, holding a marker. Catra grabbed the other one next to her. 

'3.24' Catra narrowed her eyes at Glimmer, who looked so smug it was unbearable. 

"You used your magic!" growled as her hackles raised. "You're such a fucking princess. You can't go three whole minutes without having to use it because you would have lost anyway."

Glimmer's face contorted into irritation, "Whatever Catra, I didn't cheat. You just got too cocky and didn't see me!"

"Fucking liar," Catra pushed Glimmer back as her tail fluffed up in agitation. "You can't win with your strength, so you just bipity bopity bullshit your way to first."

"You are such a sore fucking loser. I. Didn't. Cheat!" Glimmer shoved her pointer finger into Catra's chest for emphasis, and she stepped closer. 

"That's enough!" Both Glimmer and Catra's heads swiveled towards a very angry Netossa walking closer. "Both of you need to calm down now! Competition is fine, but you don't need to start fights over it." Netossa turned her attention towards Catra, "Glimmer didn't teleport-" 

"Ha!" Glimmer stuck her tongue out at Catra, who grumbled something resembling the word whatever.

Netossa rolled her eyes, "Glimmer didn't teleport, BUT she did flare up some power in her fists. I'm guessing it wasn't intentional," Looking at Catra, she continued, "but I said no magic. Your time will get a penalty of 5 seconds."

Catra stuck out her tongue this time around, and Glimmer rolled her eyes but had a small smirk play at her features.

"What are you smiling about? You lost" Catra's eyebrows knitted together as she tried to figure out Glimmer's angle.

"Nothing, I just thought of what everyone was saying before this started," Glimmer lightly chuckled.

"Who's everyone, and what were they saying?" Catra felt herself get defensive

"It was just Adora, and Perfuma...they said we were pretty similar before this started and I think I understand what they meant"

Catra felt herself smile, "Maybe, you're lucky to be anything like me."

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah, Sparkles, I practically invented the bitchy-done-right look."

Both girls laughed as they made their descent on the floating piece of earth that served as an elevator for fast travel,  _ 'Sparkles ain't too bad.' _ As soon as Catra and Glimmer found their footing on soil ground, they were immediately scooped up by three distinct individuals. Bow, Scorpia, and Adora grabbed them and hugged them tightly. Catra began to thrash around, but the grip wasn't loosened.

"Aww! You guys were so great! Glimmer, you really pushed it today!" Bow said with his trademark enthusiasm and voice cracks.

"Catra! You moved so uh- well? Like, water. Do you even have bones?" Adora backed up and began to ponder this conundrum. 

"Wildcat! You were amazing. I never doubted you for a second," Scorpia beamed proudly while squeezing the soul out of Catra.

Willing out of the iron embrace, she steadied herself once more prepared to hiss, claw and yell at everyone who had just grabbed her, but when she opened her mouth, she froze, taking in the scene in front of her. Everyone was laughing and giggling so much their cheeks were red. Smiles almost permanently settled on all of their faces. Turning her head to really look around, it was the same everywhere. Even the ones who got thrown off the course entirely looked like they were enjoying themselves. Tung Lashor was doing his stupid over-the-top laugh while talking with Huntara. Perfuma was making flower crowns and putting them upon Sea Hawk's head. This was so different from training in the Fright Zone. She didn't feel judged, would it have even mattered if she fell off at the first obstacle? Maybe. Catra wasn't sure. The only thing Catra knew was that she was going to get the chance to watch Adora go through the course. For some reason, that made Catra excited; why?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Sorry if it is a bit slow rn I promise when it picks up it picks up quickly. Tell me if you like the visuals. Leave a kudos, comment. Idk I crave affection. Thanks, everyone.
> 
> p.s if u want more of my art follow me on Tumblr and Insta @spiriteslife


	6. Product of The Fright Zone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKay before yall kill me my computer kinda exploded and I couldn't update :,) so whoops. Also a bit of procrastination but im trying. PTSD warning also

Catra wasn’t sure what she was expecting watching Adora start the course, maybe she was waiting for her trip and fall unceremoniously because of how goofy the girl normally acted. Maybe she was expecting Adora to move slowly and have issues keeping her pace. No matter what it was Catra was expecting she hadn’t prepared for what she did see. Adora lined up at the start with a serious expression, like she was making when she focused her energy into the punch. That’s when Catra knew she was about to blast all of her expectations away. Scorpia, Mermista, Sea Hawk and Bow were standing with Adora...and then they weren’t. 

When the whistle blew Adora took off, her form was textbook, perfect by any definition. She jumped the high hurdles with practiced ease instead of brute force, almost routine. Even at the rope wall she launched her body and stopped herself from swinging by tensing her muscles and finding her gravity. Oh..her arms were bunched from the excursion and they were tight. Not that Catra was looking but damn it was hard to miss. Every obstacle looked easy to Catra but with Adora there were treated as always being the same level of threat. Like she didn’t overlook any one of them as if they all had the potential to trip her up. But they couldn’t. Adora was a walking powerhouse. Not super muscular like Hunter or Scorpia but not lean like Catra. She was as flexible as she was strong. The duality of her body was apparent and admirable.  _ ‘Perfect..her everything is perfect. She is balanced out’ _ .

Catra didn’t know whether what she was feeling was jealousy or admiration. Her brain could flip it any way she picked at that moment. Looking at Adora filled her with a sense of wanting and everyone else around her looking at Adora probably wanted her too. Wanted to talk to her, hang out with her...something more. Catra decided to pick jealousy to seethe in silently, it was easier to understand and the anger she took comfort in. It was easier to be jealous of her capabilities than it was to try and compete with everyone else around her who she was hyper aware of now.

Before Catra knew it they had finished their obstacle course with times Catra didn’t care to look at. Where did this wave of emotions come from?  _ ‘This is so fucking stupid I don’t even know what happened. Why am I so angry?’  _ Adora was approaching Catra, her blinding smile plastered all over the girl's face as she stalked forwards. 

“Hey! Did you see me out there?” Adora nudged Catra playfully only to have Catra step back and begin to walk towards Netossa mumbling

“Yeah, good job or something”

***

Why was Catra suddenly upset with her? Did Adora do something in the short time she was taking the obstacle course? No, probably not. Had someone else said something to the feline girl then? Again, probably not. Catra did have that ‘don’t approach me unless you're wanting a personalized grave’ look down pat. Maybe she was just in a mood from Glimmer? Yeah that was probably it. Glimmer and Catra were like fire and ice. They were super similar almost to a fault. They'd be good friends if they could get over the killing one another thing. Maybe Adora should talk to Bow about it. 

***

The group walked with Netossa over to a grassy area away from the equipment. Suddenly an energy field cropped up around the area as Netossa turned back to her class. 

“Alright, here is our area. This time you can use your magic but nothing lethal. Control yourselves. We aren’t trying to hurt one another, just knock them out of the ring. The barriers will signify who had been knocked out so there is no arguing about it. You're allowed to use these weapons here as well,” Netossa said, gesturing to the arsenal of training equipment that had blunt ends and padding, “We will do this ladder style which means whoever wins stays in the ring for the next opponent. And remember that. We are opponents, not enemies”. Netossa gave a pointed look to a few of the students, Catra included as she looked back down at her chart, “Glimmer, Catra; your up!”

Catra could not be more excited to get into the ring again. This was her comfort zone, the place she felt most understanding and peace with herself. Fighting gave her purpose and here once again she would be allowed to indulge. Analyzing, engaging with her adversary. Here is what she was made to do, she was nothing more than a product of the Fright Zone. 

Glimmer grabbed a staff off the rack and took a very wide stance, it looked like this girl didn’t spend a single day studying form,  _ ‘I am going to wipe the floor with you Glitter’ _ . For what Glimmer lacked in experience she made up for in determination, to give her credit. When Netossa said go she lunged forwards holding the staff like a bat, swinging at Catra aimlessly. Catra just watched her staff and stepped back letting gravity put Glimmer off balance, it was almost comical. She swung the staff upwards again only for Catra to side-step out of the way and kick Glimmer in the side, sending her down to the grassy floor.

“As much fun as it is watching you try to swat me like a fly I’m gonna need you to get serious” Catra taunted. The Fright Zone had always encouraged being able to keep a sharp mind and tongue in battle. Throwing your adversary off mentally as well as physically was a good quality to have. 

The effect was immediate as Glimmer threw out her leg and landed a kick to Catra’s shin making her grunt in pain. Her recovery was swift as she rolled to the left and planted her hand on the ground for leverage leaping at Glimmer who was already on her feet preparing another swing. Before her arms could come down from the broad swing Catra threw her weight into Glimmer, scrunching up her body into a ball so both her feet planted themselves into the girls stomach as she kicked forwards sending both of the opposite directions. Throwing her arms over her head Catra dug her claws into the soft ground and landed on all fours with a successful back handspring. Glimmer was not so lucky, she went flying out of the ring before she could regain her balance and hit the ground with a resounding thud. 

_ ‘Very well done Catra’ the dark voice hissed out with a drawl. The surrounding area was dimly lit with hues of green and fluorescent lighting in the area. The air smelt of puget burnt flesh from the cadet who has been sent into the force barrier. The cadet Catra had just sent into the barrier. Her breath was labored and her limbs were shaky. Her heart raced in her ears that was deafening in the silence. So loud. So quiet. Her fur bristled as she felt the crackle of electricity around her. She couldn’t move, frozen until she was thrown onto the cold and unforgiving metal floor that made her claws uncomfortable. ‘This is the one, Lord Hordak’ _

Without realizing how she got there Catra was standing away from the crowd, she didn’t realize where she was for a second because for a brief moment she thought she was back in the Fright Zone competing with the kids she had grown up with, killing them because they were too weak to make in through The Testing. She wasn’t in Brightmoon, she was a little kitten huddled up in the corner of whatever small crawl space she could find alone and crying. Clawing at her arms because she felt horrible in her own body. Undeserving and dangerous,  _ feral _ . Just like the kitten in the Fright Zone she took off, scared and hurt. Unaware of the girl in front of her calling out her name.

***

Adora wasn’t exactly sure what had happened. Catra and Glimmer were sparring- well, more like Catra was taking Glimmer for a ride as she tried to play an unusual game of whack-a-mole, when suddenly she kicked Glimmer out of the ring. It was kind of rough but she definitely didn’t go too hard on her. Last time Adora and Catra had fought Catra bit her shoulder. The barrier changed colors and let out a chime and then Catra looked like she had seen a ghost. Her pubiles turned into pinpricks and the fur on her body puffed out. Her breathing became hard and labored and she slowly stepped back until she was sprinting away on all fours. Coach Netossa yelled for her to come back but she continued forward.

“Don’t worry, I’ll go get her!” Adora yelled over her shoulder already taking off to go find Catra.”

***

It took more time than Adora had initially thought but she finally caught up with Catra who was attempting to make herself as small as she was able on a tree branch in the field between the main school building and the apartments. Her tail was very bushy but she didn’t actually seem that aware. 

“Catra?” Adora called out, placing her hand on the tree's base looking up. Catra jerked her head downward as she looked at Adora, staring at her before her eyes finally registered who she was looking at.

“What- Adora?” Catra narrowed her eyes as her ears fell flat on her head. Her lips curled back revealing her fangs as she snarled, eyebrow furrowing, “Go away! I don’t remember telling you to follow me”

Adora was a bit surprised at the display of aggression. It was like a flip had been switched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and Ill try my damnedest to update soon


	7. Authors Update!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No I totally didn't delete the last one shut up

Hey guys, no I'm not dead and no this series is not abandoned I've actually just been rewriting everything and I'm changing the direction of the story so I'm switching around a few key details. I'll be updating it Sunday I believe so yay. Here is a preview of what I've been doing;

Old: Brightmoon Academy, the school of mystical arts, science, and history; a boarding school. The building itself looked magical on its own with gleaming walls of blue and regal white. A fountain was in front of the school that contained shimmering crystal blue water. It was the most prestigious school on Etheria and the hardest to get into, so why the fuck was Catrina standing in front of the building with a suitcase in her hands. This school was everything Catra had hated, full of snobs and stuck up idiot royal types. There should be no reason as to why Catra was standing at the ceremoniously huge doors, but there she was, replaying the events that had transpired just weeks prior.

Rewrite: Brightmoon Academy, the school of mystical arts, science, and history; a boarding school. The campus was massive with gleaming walls of royal purple and pink that shimmered in the moon rays. Crystal blue water gleamed as it spilled from the pristine marble statue of an angelic figure posed standing tall holding her hand out where the water began to flow, it's wings wrapped around her slender body. From the immaculate stone walk ways to the flawless lawn it was apparent why this school was the most prestigious academy on Etheria. What didn't fit in was Catrina Horde. Her mane fierce and untamed and her clothes dark and red. Catrina's backpack was patchy with worn spots on the bottom from being tossed around so often. The ends of the straps, hanging onto the threads that connected it to the body, strained with effort. The academy personified everything Catra grew up to loath. High-class royals and rich kids from all different kingdoms who's parents just wanted a chance to show off their wealth. Truthfully there should be no reason Catra stood at the doorsteps of the academy, but there she was letting nerves consume her. Logically she knew she shouldn't be embarrassed or nervous yet her mind made her desire acceptance. So she thought over the events that transpired to bring her here, because here she was.

I'm working on a lot actually and have 2 big collabs with other writers. A lot of one-shots, and 4 new multiwork series that are written out I just need to polish em up. I have this one planned out but it's more off the cuff tbh. Now that school is slowing down I can work on what I like. Enjoy the concept art while you wait tho

<3

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for your continues support! If you wanna hang out or know what I'm actually doing/working on join me and my fam here on discord https://discord.gg/XG6HUyU


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